Inevitable Paradox
by XenotheWise135
Summary: Inoue Orihime lived a long life, and after her death, her journey through the Dangai didn't go so smoothly. Arriving decades before canon, what will Orihime do as a shinigami? Aizen persists, and her past self is bound to show up for Rukia at some point... Rated T for now, but subject to change if I'm feeling sexy later on. The Byakuya thing isn't a pairing, so stay calm.
1. Some Turbulence

**XxChapter 1: Some TurbulencexX **

Dying actually wasn't that bad when she thought about it. It was probably because of how often she was associated with the subject during life. Hell, she'd been to the afterlife herself on many an occasion. It wasn't like she would've been scared otherwise. That just wasn't her personality. Ninenty-two was pretty damn old anyways, so it was bound to happen. But as she passed and left her body, she was at the prime of her youth all over again.

Inoue Orihime was dead, and her soul form was twenty one. Her striking red hair, innocent face, and sizable bust were all in place, as if she'd never aged in the first place. She had always dressed conservatively, so it was to no surprise that she donned an ankle length one piece white dress.

Orihime looked at her physical body, taking in the elderly woman. She died in her sleep, as any senior would wish it. Orihime didn't live her life as many had assumed she would while they were younger. She never got married, and she never had any children. She just kind of stuck around Karakura Town, help and helping until she had nothing else to do. Everybody knew who she was, really. The kids loved her, and the adults respected her. She kept her chipper personality through the years, and many of her close friends would assume that she didn't age at all mentally.

Deciding to get things over with, Orihime left her house and took to the skies, as her soul form would allow her. Standing on air, now that was a handy trick. Damn near every spiritual entity could do it, why not her? And so she learned. She hadn't done it in decades, but old habits die hard, she supposed. With her luck, maybe Rukia-chan would come for her konso. The reiatsu she felt within the hour said otherwise. Hello, nameless shinigami.

"You must have substantial reiatsu for your body to regress upon death." The man stated, sizing up Orihime.

Orihime giggled. "Yeah, I was kinda surprised myself. I was tired of being ninety anyways." She joked.

The man shared in the laugh, but soon got down to business. "Well, you'll have to come with me, miss… Inoue, was it?" He asked, attempting to remember his superior's thoughts on the newly departed.

"Yup! What squad are from?"

"The sixth. Kuchiki-taicho was quite insistent that you were escorted personally through the Dangai. No express trip via konso."

That was surprising, actually. "Byakuya-kun said that? How nice…" Orihime said to herself.

Taking so small note of the familiarity of which she spoke about his captain, she shinigami signaled that it was time to leave. "I am Kudo Ryosuke. It's a pleasure to meet you." He said with a bow.

"Likewise." Orihime responded, bowing as well.

As Ryosuke opened a Senkaimon, he gave Orihime a serious look. "We've just recently begun traveling through the Dangai on a regular schedule. For the past eighty years, the destruction of the Kototsu has made travel a very volatile experience. Urahara Kisuke had developed machines to halt Koryu, but recently the Kototsu regenerated itself. We hadn't assumed it would take so long, but we don't know if things are back to normal yet. Please do not lag behind, and be very mindful of the Kototsu if it decides to show itself. It's not certain that this Kototsu follows the same cleaning schedule as the last, so we're very cautious." He explained.

THAT surprised Orihime. Aizen had destroyed the Kototsu DECADES ago. Had the shinigami really been travelling the Dangai via Urahara's technology for that long? Deciding to mull it over later, she stepped through the gate with Ryosuke. The purple sludge that greeted her never got any prettier, but she had gotten used to it when she was younger.

"Normally…" Ryosuke started. "We would have immediately had to stop and place some of Urahara Kisuke's tools on the wall before proceeding. With the Kototsu back, travel is much quicker, but still volatile. We'd best be quick."

Orihime nodded before picking up her pace. She didn't like the feeling the place was giving off, for some reason. The air felt dense to her, and an extremely dim reiatsu saturated the area. The soon they reached the Soul Society, the better. The two walked in mostly silence, until a loud rumbling was heard behind them.

"Shit! The Kototsu!" Ryosuke yelled. He knew he should've checked the traffic through his Jigokucho. He was too caught up in explaining things to Orihime. If he had been more careful, they would have waited a few minutes before entering. "Run!"

"I know!" Orihime responded, picking up the pace. It wasn't going to do much good, though. Neither she nor Ryosuke had any experience in shunpo-like skills. It was all up to the muscles in their legs at this point, ones that Orihime hadn't used like this in far too long. The Kototsu was going to eat them, and in a last ditch effort, Orihime lifted her hand to where her hairpins usually were. Bingo. Not even the afterlife could keep the Shun Shun Rikka out of her reach.

"Santen Kesshun, I Reject!" She yelled, calling forth her patented shield to collide with the barreling Kototsu.

It was kind of nostalgic, in a way, considering the first time she traveled through the Dangai.

The shield burst almost instantly, causing her to make a very uncharacteristic curse. There was only one thing she could do at this point, and she had little time to do it.

"Goten Kikeshun, I Reject!" She called, creating a pentagon-shaped shell around her, all spirits but Tsubaki present. She reached for Ryosuke, but was too late. The Kototsu swallowed them up and spit them out Dangai in almost an instant.

The "Five God Sacred Link-Return Shield" was meant to form a casing around the person and heal their injuries at the same time. But, when the occupant wasn't injured, Shun'o and Ayame would instead devote their healing prowess to reinforce the shield as it was damage, creating a near impenetrable shell. Not even the Kototsu could break it.

Orihime hit the ground HARD. Make no mistake, the Kototsu wasn't nice when it evicted you from the Dangai. Taking a moment to gather herself, she slowly dissolved her protective casing. She took in her surroundings and noticed that she had indeed made it into the Rukongai safely. But what about Ryosuke?

Searching frantically, Orihime's breath caught when she laid eyes upon the shriveled husk that used to be Kudo Ryosuke. His body was wrinkly, ragged, and stretched out. His body couldn't handle the pressure of the Kototsu expelling them with such force. She wept for the man, not just for his death, but also for her inability to prevent it.

But then it hit her. The only reason he would have ended up like that was because of a time discrepancy caused by the Kototsu. Her question quickly changed from WHERE was she to WHEN was she. She really did have to thank her allies for their usefulness. Nobody had survived anything like this to her knowledge.

She wandered the Rukongai, looking at the various souls who inhabited it. Her attire caught the eyes of many and her looks the eyes of even more. Some wondered what she was doing in this segment of the Rukongai, assuming her to be of a higher district due to her clothing. Others had thought that were less… pure, but this wasn't Zaraki. They wouldn't be doing anything about it.

Orihime approached a male shopkeeper and decided to ask a few questions. "Ano… Where is this?"

The man gave her a pointed look. "You lost, girly? Junrinan's a ways away."

"No, that's not… Just please tell me where I can get into contact with the Seireitei." She asked politely.

The man scoffed. "Definitely lost. The only shinigami you'll find around here are the ones that Aizen brings through every week.

Orihime's face fell considerable. She didn't go forward, she went backwards. Just great. How far though, was the question now. "When's the next time they come through?" She asked.

"You're lucky. Sometime today if my internal clock's right. That man gives me the creeps, to be honest. Claims he's here to pick up shinigami hopefuls, but I never hear from any of them ever again. He's not the most trustworthy lieutenant in my book."

That was a start. Aizen wasn't a captain yet. That gave her a bit of an idea how far she was thrown. From what Shinji had told her about his time in the Gotei 13, that meant… At least sixty years back. The man was already neck deep in his experiments at this point. Did she really want to talk with him, though? He certainly wasn't one of her favorite people, that was for certain.

Orihime spared the man a quick thanks and went on her way. What now? Was she just going to live out life as a citizen of the Rukongai, or were there greater things in store for her? Shinigami Orihime didn't actually sound that bad.

Question was, where to start? And what to do after the fact…

**XxChapter EndxX**

**This is just a tiny idea floating around for me, which is why it's so short. It really won't go anywhere until I hear some feedback, but it's a side project for now. I've almost given up hope on Vampire's Refuge, and am currently finishing up the last chapter of Sir Godot's "Dark Guild Konoha", which I adopted. **

**This is just a break for the most part. The idea has been with me for weeks, but this was all written in about an hour. Please review, because there's a lot to see if this continues.**

**Key points include:**

**Inoue-taicho at some point,**

**Some sort of change in the Gotei 13's training regiment prompted by her,**

**An encounter with her past self as a ryoka… (hence the title)**

**Xeno out, peace.**


	2. Rukongai Days

**XxChapter 2: Rukongai DaysxX**

Orihime stood at the window of the local inn. She was in East Rukongai, District 64: Sabitsura. It was very lower class, but not crime-ridden like districts in the seventies. The people were poor, but happy. Orihime looked at the group of shinigami walking through down the main street. The black shihakusho were noticeable by all but the greenest souls. The man in the middle though, was what caught Orihime's eye.

The tall figure, well-kept hair, and disarming glasses were all in place. Had she not known better, she'd have assumed the man a well-loved superior. But sadly, she most definitely DID know better. That man was Aizen Sosuke, the new Captain of Squad 5. VERY new. This was actually his first trip to Sabitsura as a Captain, thus the shopkeeper's earlier statement that he was a Lieutenant.

He talked with the locals as if they were the best of friends, and everybody seemed to know him. His smile was shockingly genuine, actually. He was happy that the people loved him, because it made them easier to manipulate. Orihime had no doubt that the "shinigami hopefuls" taken by Aizen were either made his direct subordinates or experimented on.

That led her to her next decision. She had considerable reiatsu. In fact, in her current condition she would call herself somewhere on the middle ground between Lieutenant and Captain. She'd gotten pretty damn good as she got older, but she never COULD match up with Yasutora-kun and Uryu-kun. She had always been the weakest of the "Ryoka" group. But that never bothered her.

Now she had to choose whether or not to confront Aizen and convince him to take her into the Seireitei. That would allow her to take a place in the Gotei 13 and figure out what the hell to do next. It gave her an escort and free entry.

Adversely, it would also put her under Aizen's gaze from the start. She might not be chosen to be one of his subordinates, and instead put in the labs. It was a tough decision to make, but she had chosen to avoid the man entirely. Her looking out the window right now was nothing but a morbid curiosity at seeing the source of so much of her past pain alive and well again.

Then he turned and looked at her.

Their eyes met, and while she was surprised, his look didn't change at all. She same disarming stare he gave everybody he was fooling. He gave her a kind smile and turned back to his conversation with a young woman at a shop.

Orihime's heart was beating 240. She hadn't hidden the surprise and fear on her face in the least. Aizen may not have made a gesture otherwise, but he would definitely remember the encounter. But why did he even look at her in the first place?

It could have been a coincidence, but he looked her in the eyes immediately, as if he knew what he was going to see before he even turned to see it. He had noticed her, and found her intriguing enough to observe directly. Perhaps she hadn't hid her reiatsu well enough? She was never any good at that.

Well, going with him was DEFINITELY out of the question now. What a great start so far.

**XxBreakxX**

Orihime stood behind the counter at the local bar. Getting a job serving food or drink was easy when you had boobs as big as hers. During the day she tended the tables, and as night fell she hit the kegs. It had only been a few days, but she was making some cash. She wanted to buy a carriage to Hokutan. That way, she could see about meeting a standard shinigami patrol unit instead of relying on Aizen's trips to the slums.

She wasn't going to lie to herself though. It was BORING. Pay for a night at the inn. Wake up. Eat breakfast. Go to work. Eat dinner. Figure something else out. Pay for a night at the inn. She sighed at the cycle's dullness.

"Orihime-chan! Good evening!" A middle-aged man said, walking towards the bar.

Her mood dropped considerable at the man's presence. "Good evening, Kato-san. The usual?"

He laughed uproariously. "Four days and you can tell something like that?! You got it!"

"Coming right up…" She drawled. The man was just so… loud. She couldn't hate anyone, that just wasn't Orihime. She just really didn't enjoy this man's company is all.

She couldn't help having her thoughts drift off every so often. Not the fantasies she was famous for, but just contemplating what the hell happened. She was in the past. Not her past, but Soul Society's past. She didn't exist in this world, and wouldn't for decades. So then, what should she do?

Normally, when somebody dies, they live their lives in the Soul Society. Upon dying there, they then reincarnate. Maybe she should just chill in the Rukongai for the rest of her days? No, that wasn't an option. Her reiatsu would bring the Seireitei to HER eventually. You can't be as spiritually advanced as Orihime and not be scouted for the Gotei 13. They'd want her in the academy right away, and in a squad soon after.

She laughed at the idea. She would probably be labeled a prodigy and whatnot because everything they would try to teach her she could get down VERY quickly. But it made Orihime think. She knew she had to enter the Gotei 13. She knew she would be a shinigami, and thus be exposed to people SHE knew but didn't know her.

She knew that another Inoue Orihime would be coming to visit eventually. And THAT, was an inevitable paradox she didn't want to face…

**XxBreakxX**

Orihime looked out the window of her carriage. She was heading from District 64 all the way to District 3. That was a LONG way, and thus cost a LOT of money. Two months sleeping in the same room, and serving Kato the same drink over and over again. Working a restaurant in the living world was much more eventful than a rundown bar in the slums of the Rukongai. But, like all work, it was never what you really wanted, but had to do anyways. She got it done.

And now she was in a carriage, having traveled for close to three days now. The carriage driver didn't want to pay for his customers to have inn rooms while they took breaks, so we all had to camp in the woods each night. It wasn't that bad, but the others complaining was pretty annoying at times. Some of the rich people in the lower districts on business, were the primary complainants. At least there was food.

What stood out to Orihime though, was the shinigami they picked up in District 14. He was a middle-aged man that managed to retain a youthful look. His shoulder length black hair perfectly framed his pale face. It was obvious he garnered female attention, Orihime deduced. The thing that stood out most about the man was what was on his shoulder.

It was the Lieutenant's Badge for Squad 6.

**XxBreakxX**

As the group set up camp for a final night, Orihime found her gaze drifting to the shinigami once more. He gave her a kind look and moved to sit next to her at the campfire.

"Hello there, miss…"

"Inoue." She responded. "Inoue Orihime."

He smiled again. "I'm Kuchiki Sojun. A pleasure to meet you."

She smiled back. "For me as well."

"So…" Sojun started while throwing a stray twig into the fire pit. "I heard you've been on this carriage since Sabitsura. What takes you this far?" He asked kindly.

"I was actually hoping to enter the academy to become a shinigami." She answered, deciding to be truthful. This man could be he ticket in, as well as a start for close ties with the Kuchiki clan.

Sojun gave her a slightly disbelieving look. "The closest district to the Seireitei is Koten. Why come to Hokutan?"

Orihime sighed and leaned back. "Well, I figured that any sort of civilian patrols you guys do would happen in high class areas, not in the slums. I wanted to see if I could get a recommendation before attempting to sign up. I didn't think there would be so many shinigami all over the Soul Society. My plan might have backfired…" She said with a small laugh.

"I see. Well, contrary to popular belief, we do keep a good eye on most of the Rukongai. Sometimes hollows follow us through the Dangai, so it's good to be able to respond no matter where the attack starts. Squad 5 in particular has an extensive patrol program for the slums."

"_Yeah, I gathered as much."_ Orihime quipped internally. "So what brings you to this part of the Rukongai then?" She asked as innocently as possible.

"My clan house is in Junrinan, but the closest stop is in Hokutan. If I want to visit, I need to walk a bit. I was on my way back from a mission, so I decided to see my son before heading back to the barracks."

"It must be nice to have blood family here. When you die, it's usually friendly ties you have to build at first. It takes a long time to get a good thing going. I hope you treasure your family." Orihime told him.

Sojun chuckled bitterly. "I do, and that's why I've been trying to visit the estate as often as possible. My boy's been having some tough times lately."

Orihime frowned. "That's sad to hear."

"I know. About thirty years ago, his… sister figure disappeared from the Seireitei, charged with treason. That hit him hard, and so he started to take training more seriously. He also holds the law in scarily high regard because of it. Then, about five years ago, my wife Runa passed away. That hit him even harder. He's been getting really distant as of late, and it worries me. My father visits the estate far more often than I, but there's only so much he can do. My father has more work than I do, being the captain of Squad 6 and all."

That's when Orihime realized who she was actually talking to.

This was Kuchiki Byakuya's father.

**XxChapter EndxX**

**Well, I'm trying to start setting up some story points that will matter quite a bit later on. Orihime's relationship with the Kuchiki family will be of great importance to the plot, and will also feature Orihime's first true test as a member of the future.**

**I haven't gotten any feedback yet, but still wanted to keep writing so I didn't lose the spark. Hopefully I'll get some advice soon, but for now I'm just going with the flow.**

**Review please! Xeno out, peace.**


End file.
